Rolf Kühn, born in 1929, grew up in Leipzig-Lindenau, and began studying piano in 1937. At a young age, he also became familiar with music theory and composition.

In 1941, he studied under Hans Berninger, who was then the principal clarinetist of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

As a so-called “half-Jew,” he was not allowed to attend a music academy, and therefore had to study privately in secret.

He was first introduced to jazz through Jutta Hipp, who played him a Benny Goodman record at her parents’ home.

At the age of 16, he worked as a pianist at the opera ballet school.

In 1946, at just 17 years old, Kühn became a saxophonist and clarinetist at the newly founded Leipzig station of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. As a soloist, he performed under Kurt Henkels with the Leipzig Radio Dance Orchestra, the leading big band of the Soviet zone, alongside star trumpeter Horst “Hackl” Fischer and drummer -later bandleader- Fips Fleischer.

For a short time, under Eugen Henkel, Kühn became the lead saxophonist of the RIAS Dance Orchestra in Berlin in 1950.

In 1954, he won the “Best Clarinetist” award at a European jazz competition for the first time, and successfully defended this title over the following two years.

In 1956, Kühn moved to the United States, where he performed in New York alongside Caterina Valente. There he met John Hammond, producer at Columbia Records, who enabled the aspiring young artist to record his first album under his own name.

A band was assembled for him, and he performed at venues such as Birdland in New York, the Blue Note in Chicago, and the Newport Jazz Festival.

From 1958 to 1962, Kühn played in Benny Goodman’s orchestra, and later, as Buddy DeFranco’s successor, he served as the solo clarinetist in Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra for about a year and a half.

In 1962, Rolf Kühn returned to West Germany (FRG), where he immediately became the musical director of the NDR Television Orchestra in Hamburg.

Alongside his work as a bandleader, he also performed as a soloist with Albert Mangelsdorff and others in the German Allstars, with whom he undertook an extensive South American tour.

From the 1960s onward, he released numerous recordings both as a bandleader and guest soloist, working with major labels such as Polydor, Vanguard Records, Brunswick Records, Amiga, Intercord, Impulse! Records, and MPS.

Since 1966, Kühn’s younger brother, pianist Joachim Kühn -14 years his junior- also lived in West Germany. Previously based in Leipzig, Joachim was able to leave the GDR after Rolf invited him to Vienna. From that point on, the brothers frequently performed together, initially under the production of Joachim Ernst Berendt, and later Klaus Lorenzen.

From the 1960s onward, Rolf Kühn’s musical scope expanded beyond traditional jazz to include free jazz and jazz-rock.

Over time, he increasingly turned toward composition and conducting, taking on musical direction roles at various theaters, including the Theater des Westens in Berlin.

From the late 1960s onward, he composed music for films such as

“The Yellow House on Pinnasberg,” “Perrak,” “Death Revenge in Soho,” and “Dr. M Strikes,” as well as for legendary television series including “PS,” “Tatort,” and “Derrick.”

He also recorded music for library labels such as Selected Sound.

His wife was the German actress Judy Winter.

The Kühn brothers were among the most outstanding and successful German jazz musicians, yet the relatively small number of awards they received over the past 40 years -such as the Jazz Echo Prize (2011) and the German Jazz Trophy (2018) for lifetime achievement- stands in contrast to the vast number of recordings they produced.

Critic Michael Rüsenberg even remarked that Kühn was “the Philip Roth of German jazz,” referring to the fact that he received remarkably few major awards.

In 2008, Rolf Kühn founded the ensemble Rolf Kühn & Tri-O with Christian Lillinger, Ronny Graupe, and Johannes Fink. He toured extensively with this group and continued releasing new albums.

Even at nearly 90 years of age, Kühn stated that he still practiced his instrument two hours a day.

Rolf Kühn passed away in August 2022 in Berlin.

His final performance took place on June 4, 2022, at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, as part of the Elbjazz Festival.

His brother Joachim Kühn was posthumously awarded the German Jazz Prize (2023) for lifetime achievement.